San Jose State’s 25-3 loss to San Diego State on Saturday night was mostly caused by the Spartans’ self-inflicted wounds that created too big a deficit to battle back at Snapdragon Stadium.
On top of two turnovers and a pair of missed field goals, it didn’t help that the Spartans (3-8, 2-5 Mountain West) lost starting quarterback Walker Eget in the first quarter.
“It was kind of indicative of this year. The kicking game hurt us and we had big turnovers,” said Spartans coach Ken Niumatalolo, whose team has a minus-9 turnover margin and has made just 58 percent of its field goal attempts (11-for-19).
Eget suffered an apparent leg injury and was later seen on the sideline using crutches after going 4-for-8 for 32 yards and an interception. While not revealing many details, Niumatalolo struck an ominous tone when asked about Eget’s injury.
“I’ll just say it didn’t look good,” Niumatalolo said. “Haven’t got anything official but we’ll find out in a little bit.”
Eget’s injury forced freshman quarterback Tama Amisone to take over the offense. Amisone, a 5-foot-11, 184-pound product of Hawaii’s Kapolei High, utilized his dual-threat abilities to give the Aztecs (9-2, 6-1) a different look. He rushed for a team-high 75 yards on 13 runs while completing 15 of 27 passes for 104 yards and an interception.
The San Diego State defense, which ranks first in the Mountain West by allowing just 12.5 points per game, held the Spartans to 268 yards of offense and out of the end zone. The Aztecs had seven tackles for loss, including four sacks.
Dwayne McDougle #26 of San Diego State runs the ball after an interception against Daniel Moleni #54 of San Jose State during their game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
After electing to receive the ball at the outset, the Spartans quickly put themselves in trouble when Eget was intercepted on the third play of the game by Dwayne McDougle, a graduate of McClymonds High in Oakland. The first of McDougle’s two interceptions set up the Aztecs at the Spartans’ 20-yard line. They scored six plays later on Lucky Sutton’s 1-yard touchdown run.
San Jose State moved into field goal range on its next offensive drive, but kicker Denis Lynch slipped while attempting a 43-yard field goal that had no chance of success.
Fellow Spartans kicker Mathias Brown, kicking from the left hash, then went 1-for-2 on his field goal attempts in the first half, making a 37-yarder and missing a 39-yarder.
Despite their offensive woes, the Spartans’ defense looked much-improved in interim defensive coordinator Bojay Filimoeatu’s first game since taking over for longtime coach Derrick Odum, who was fired on Monday after a blowout loss to Nevada.
San Jose State’s defense limited the Aztecs to just 248 total yards and 5-for-13 on third downs. But the SJSU offense was never able to capitalize despite picking up 19 first downs compared to 16 for SDSU.
Once the field shrunk, the Spartans offense again could not punch the ball into the end zone. Over the past three weeks, SJSU has scored just 29 points.
“If we could have just mustered up something on offense, I feel like our defense could have kept their juice,” Niumatalolo said. “I thought the defense rallied and that was a testament to Bojay.”
San Jose State has now lost three games in a row, its longest losing streak since 2023. Meanwhile, San Diego State put itself in position to clinch the conference’s regular-season title with a victory next Friday night against New Mexico.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 22: Trey White #2 of the San Diego State Aztecs pressures Tama Amisone #8 of the San Jose State Spartans during the second half at Snapdragon Stadium on November 22, 2025 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
With Amisone in the game and without Eget, the nation’s second-leading passer with 3,015 yards, the Spartans emphasized the run game.
“We got beat up front,” Niumatalolo said. “It’s hard to throw the football when the quarterback is running for his life.”
SJSU running backs Steve Chavez-Soto (51 yards, 14 carries) and Viliami Teu (23 yards, five carries) contributed to the Spartans’ 133 rushing yards.
Running back Lamar Radcliffe, who has been heavily used alongside Chavez-Soto this season, did not see game action against San Diego State after fumbling in the blowout loss to Nevada.
“Obviously Lamar is a good player but he’s got to take care of the ball better,” Niumatalolo said.
Amisone left the game due to cramping in his calf twice. While he was forced to sit out a few plays, freshman quarterback Robert McDaniel, a UCLA transfer, took over for the final drive of the game. McDaniel finished the game 1-for-3 passing for minus-1 yard.
The Aztecs offense struggled to get the passing game going without top receivers Jordan Napier and Jacob Bostick as quarterback Jayden Denegal went just 4-for-8 for 16 yards until the two-minute warning before halftime.
But Denegal completed a 52-yard bomb to Donovan Brown to move the ball to the SJSU 4. That set up a 1-yard touchdown sneak by Denegal, giving SDSU an 18-3 lead. Senegal finished 8-of-16 for 81 yards passing.
SJSU finishes the season 0-6 on the road and will close its season at home next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Fresno State in the annual Battle for the Valley.